


Who She Was

by Trickster_Angel



Series: Of Rose and Fate, Of Lirena and Brydann [3]
Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age: Origins, Dragon Age: Origins - Awakening
Genre: Character Study, Drinking, Gen, No Plot/Plotless, Post-Canon, Reflection, Sad Ending, stories of the past
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-04
Updated: 2020-06-04
Packaged: 2021-03-03 22:02:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,060
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24542776
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Trickster_Angel/pseuds/Trickster_Angel
Summary: Oghren and Nathaniel knew Rose before she changed. They tell the other Wardens stories about her past.
Series: Of Rose and Fate, Of Lirena and Brydann [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1621267
Comments: 2
Kudos: 2





	Who She Was

The Grey Wardens were having a rowdy dinner. With the defeat of the Architect and the Mother, even with the damage to Vigil’s Keep, the main hall was still secure, and there was a great reason to celebrate. So the ale flowed freely. 

The Warden Commander herself had yet to make an appearance, claiming she needed to document the event to send to the Chamberlain of the Grey. But her absence did little to stop the celebration that night. 

The party lasted for hours, with most retiring long before the official wardens did. But when it was just the six of them, the party calmed down. Oghren was drunk but it was a rare moment when he wasn’t. The rest had partaken in the ale as well, probably more so than they should. But that thought did nothing to stop them.

Still, as they calmed down, they started to talk.

“So,” Sigrun asked, “What was the Warden Commander like?”

“Like how?” Oghren replied.

“When she was younger. You both knew her before this.” She looked between Oghren and Nathaniel.

“You know her as a responsible and loyal woman,” Justice said, “Why do you want to know more?”

“Because she’s the Hero of Fereldan,” Sigrun said, “And I haven’t known her very long. Maybe she was different back then. Before she was all that and the queen.”

Nathaniel looked down the bottle he was holding. “She was,” he paused, “softer, maybe?”

Oghren laughed. “Soft? You ever think Rose was  _ soft _ ?”

“Then what was she like?” Anders asked, now interested in their conversation.

“She was always tough. A leader. She did like to lead us.” 

“What does that even mean?” Velanna asked.

“She always acted like she knew what she was doing.”

“So she was confident?” Anders asked, “That hasn’t really changed.”

“She was less of a stick in the mud. She was more fun back then.”

“What were you doing that was fun?” Justice asked.

“She drank my mead,” Oghren said suggestively.

Anders, Sigrun, Nathaniel, and Velanna recoiled.

“Who don’t mean she-”

“No! The commander’s a pretty woman but I don’t do humans.”    
Everyone at the table sighed in relief.

“When I knew her, she was a wild thing,” Nathaniel said, “I was friends with her brother but she was much younger than him. She was always running around, getting her dresses dirty, and driving her family crazy.”

“Wait. How old are you?” Anders asked.

“Thirty.”

His mouth dropped open but he quickly recovered and smiled slyly. 

“No,” Nathaniel said.

“Then how old is the commander?” Sigrun asked.

“Around twenty,” Nathaniel replied, “Anyway, what I was saying was that she seemed happier back then. And she seems hardened almost now.”

“Oh,” Sigrun said. It was clear that this wasn’t what she expected. “I guess the Blight was hard on her.”

“She didn’t used to act like that,” Oghren said, “Happened once the Blight ended.”

“Well what could have happened then?” Anders asked, “She ended the Blight, became queen, and then Warden-Commander. You think she’d be happy now.”

“One would think,” Nathaniel said.

“She does have those scars,” Velanna said, “Not that the Commander is one to care about scars.”

“What scars?” Sigrun asked.

“The one on the back of her neck. It appears as though she was burned there.”   
“Not just there,” Oghren said, “All over her head. The archdemon lit her hair on fire.”

Both women recoiled in shock.

“And she survived,” Sigrun said.

“Healers are a wonder,” Anders remarked.

“She’s lucky her hair grew back at all.”

“Rose never struck me as the type of woman who would care much if her hair was burnt off or if she received some new scars,” Nathaniel said.

“The preservation of her life should be her prerogative,” Justice said.

“Sometimes, people want to look good too,” Anders said.

“You should have seen her before the Blight, when she couldn’t get a blighted mirror. She didn’t care about how she looked,” Oghren said.

“Then why is she so sad now that the Blight’s over?” Sigrun asked.

The door creaked open. The Wardens turned to see their own commander walking in. Despite everything good that happened in her life, Rose Theirin’s footsteps seemed too heavy. Her blond hair had grown back enough that it framed her face in a short hairstyle. The scars extended past her hairline and onto her neck but she was alive. Her husband was alive. She’d married him, become the Warden-Commander, stopped the Architect and the Mother, and she still looked so sad. Why was she so sad?

“Hey, Commander,” Oghren said.

“Having fun?” she asked and forced a smile. 

“It’s been a great time,” Anders said.

“We’re having fun,” Sigrun agreed.

“Enjoy it while you can. Tomorrow it’s back to work, no matter how bad your hangovers are,” she said.

“Yes, Commander,” the wardens said.

“Enjoy the feast,” she said and began to walk to the opposite door.

“Why don’t you join us?” Nathaniel asked.

Rose stopped and looked at them.

“Yeah, we’re celebrating our victory,” Sigrun said.

“You were the contributing factor,” Justice said.

“I have already taken my meal. And I still have work to take care of,” Rose said.

“Can’t it wait for tomorrow?” Anders asked.

“You deserve to celebrate as much as us,” Velanna added.

“Come on, Rose,” Oghren said, “It’ll be like old times.”

For the first time since they’d met her, the wardens saw Rose genuinely smile. But as quickly as it happened, the smile disappeared from her face. She looked conflicted, her gaze turning towards the floor. Finally, her face took on a more serious expression. The same hard look in her eyes, the serious attitude in her posture. Every bit the Warden-Commander, the Hero of Fereldan, the Queen of Fereldan, the Arlessa of Amaranthine she should be. But nothing of the Rose she had been. She said, “Unfortunately not. Another time. Have a good night.” She swiftly walked out the door.

The wardens continued to drink but they couldn’t replicate the happy feeling they’d had before. The victory seemed a little more hollow. Their Commander had smiled, ever so briefly, before that same hardened expression returned to her face. 

“You know,” Oghren said, “That was her again, for a second. Thought it might have been the ale.”

“No,” Nathaniel said, “That was her. What happened to her?”

But no one knew.

**Author's Note:**

> Rose changed after the Blight ended. She and Alistair are both still alive. I wonder what could be bothering her...  
> I'll write why she changed eventually. I have a whole story for Rose and I would love to be able to write the whole thing. Let me know if you'd like to read more.  
> Thank you for reading. Kudos and comments are always appreciated. I have more stories for this series so hopefully I'll see you soon.
> 
> If you'd like to see sneak previews of my upcoming works and get writing tips, please check out my writing blog: a-writing-trickster-angel.tumblr.com


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